Shaq And Charles Barkley Rip Into Joel Embiid After Second Terrible Playoff Game In A Row

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Last week, Mark Jackson boldly projected Joel Embiid to be in the discussion for the greatest big man the league’s ever seen after he dropped 33 points on 50% shooting in Game 3. Flash forward six days, the Sixers dropped two straight, are on the verge of elimination, and Mr. Embiid has scored an uninspired 11 and 13 points, respectively. Sports are a fickle bitch.

The Raptors bullied the Sixers last night by a score of 125–89, and in 31 minutes of play, the Sixers big man looked as ill as he was unproductive. Embiid has self-admittedly been struggling with diarrhea this series that has evolved into an upper respiratory infection, bringing with it unfortunate symptoms to add to a knee plagued with tendinitis.

Two people Embiid did not receive sympathy from was Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.

During halftime of the Sixers loss, the two NBA greats ripped Embiid for his poor play and uninspired demeanor this series.

“I don’t want to hear no excuses,” Shaq said. “If you want to get to the championship, if you want people to remember ‘The Process’ forever, you gotta step up. Five points is unacceptable. During the regular season he’s averaging 28. He’s now averaging 18. He’s not stepping up to the challenge.”

“He walks around like he’s on his death bed,” Charles added. “He drains the energy out of that team. They showed him walking into the game today, he’s walking, by himself like he’s on his deathbed. As the star player, you can never show weakness. You got to keep the other guys involved in the game. That’s what he does. He complains so much about being sick, he drains the energy out of the room.”

To add insult to injury, Embiid was trolled by Drake last night. These L’s are starting to pile up.